Firefighter Hero Pays Teen's $1000 Electricity Bill To Keep Him Alive

Sometimes A Hero Can Be A Hero Twice At The Same Time

Why Is This Important?

Because heroes don't grow on trees.

Long Story Short

35 year-old firefighter Ryan McCuen responded to a call from a frantic mother about her 18 year-old son who is on a ventilator which keeps him alive. The electric company had shut off their electricity because of overdue bills amounting to a total of $1,023.76. In a selfless and heroic act Ryan payed off the entire bill and didn't even want recognition.

Long Story

It's not often you hear about a hero being a hero twice in the same moment but this is the case of firefighter Ryan McCuen who not only is a hero because he responds to potentially life threatening calls on a daily basis on February 11th, he not only went out on a call, he changed a family's life. The call came in as a "nonemergency medical" call which usually means that the call poses very little danger to the firefighters themselves. When Ryan arrived at the scene he found 18 year-old Troy Stone attached to no less than 7 machines all keeping him alive. His ventilator had switched to running on its backup battery and it wouldn't last.

Troy has a form of muscular dystrophy called Duchenne muscular dystrophy which is slowly deteriorating his muscles and therefore he needs a ventilator to breathe. It has caused him the need for multiple surgeries and has put a financial burden on his family which is how the electric bills weren't immediately payed. This was all too much for firefighter Ryan McCuen who then anonymously donated the money to pay for their electricity to get turned back on. Saving the life of Stone. The whole situation could have been much less terrible for the family if the electric company had taken the notice from their doctor seriously stating that the power to the house shouldn't be cut off out of medical necessity.

Ryan's unselfish deed didn't go unnoticed, the township's fire chief Michael Phy sung his praises to local media when he heard what the fireman had done. His reasoning was less to provide Ryan with recognition but more to help out the family and get them the assistance they desperately needed. They have a Go Fund Me page set up to raise money for both of the kids as two of the family's 5 kids have the same medical condition.

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How was a child almost sentenced to death for overdue bills?

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There should be a right to basic health care and right to life whenever possible.